The Green Puck campaign started in Gelsenkirchen just before Team USA and host nation Germany opened the 2010 IIHF World Championship in front of a then-world record crowd of 77,803 fans.

The messages of the campaign are simple and clear. “Doping is not hockey” and “doping is offside” are the slogans written on the green pucks that were used for the warm-up and that are supported by prominent players, coaches, referees and other hockey personalities from around the globe that can be seen on the video below this text.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) believes in the true spirit of sports and rejects any use of doping and drugs. This message is underlined in the campaign in co-operation with the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).

The Green Puck leaflet is available for download in nine different languages on the right side of this page where you can also find an e-learning tool and earn a certificate.

“The IIHF was one of the first international federations to be WADA Code compliant,” IIHF President René Fasel said. “Although doping is a rarity in international ice hockey, we realize that we are not immune to people who want to cheat by taking banned substances. This is why the IIHF, together with WADA, has launched the Green Puck campaign. Our main goal is to create awareness about the risks of doping.”

The IIHF is the first international sport organization to use the concept of green sport equipment for such a campaign together with WADA. Other federations are also being encouraged to adopt the idea to promote the spirit of sport without doping.

Marcel Goc (photo) from the German national team and the NHL’s Nashville Predators was the first player to get a glimpse of the green pucks that arrived in Gelsenkirchen the day before the opening game. The Germans and Team USA used the green pucks to promote the campaign in the warm-up before playing for the first three points to be given in the 2010 IIHF World Championship.

It was the first time in IIHF history that pucks of another colour than black have been used.

Finland vs. Denmark in Cologne and Switzerland vs. Latvia in Mannheim were the other two games that utilize green pucks in the warm-up of the 2010 IIHF World Championship. There were information booths at all venues and video messages were shown during the event.

Since the premiere the green pucks have been used in many more events of the 2011 IIHF World Championship program to bring over the strong message against doping.